3 injured in Redmond when car driven by 90-year-old crashes into business

As the population of the U.S. ages and senior citizens are staying more active, we are seeing more reports of older drivers getting into car accidents.

Today in Redmond, a 90-year-old man driving a Cadillac crashed his vehicle into a local business, the SunShine Foot Spa located in the 16800 block of Redmond Way.

Luckily no one was seriously injured in the accident but a customer at the foot spa, an employee and the 90-year-old driver were all taken to the hospital with injuries. According to one report, it was fortunate that more people weren’t injured as there were approximately 10 people inside the business at the time of the car crash.

It appears that driver error was the cause of this accident with the elderly driver hitting the gas pedal instead of the brake.

Many elderly drivers strive to keep their independence and the automobile is certainly a symbol of that. However, elderly drivers, those ages 75-84, have a car accident fatality rate equal to that of teenagers. For drivers older than 84, the car accident fatality rate is four times that of teenagers.

Along with age comes a host of mobility problems, decreased visual acuity, memory and flexibility. In addition, many senior citizens take prescription medications which can effect their driving.

A few years back, a 90-year-old driver, Elizabeth Grimes, ran a red light and killed a 17-year-old high school student who was driving to school. This was a call to action for some states to draft laws to make sure drivers age 79 years old and older do not drive if they have diminished capacity. These states require older drivers to renew their driver licenses in person and some even require they take a driving test. In Washington state, drivers age 55and older are encouraged to take a collision prevention course.

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in car accidents and the family of those killed.